Sai oua
ไส้อั่ว (sai ua) — herby grilled Northern Thai pork sausage with lemongrass and lime leaf
Walk through Chiang Mai's Warorot market and you will smell sai oua before you see it: long coils of sausage smoking over charcoal, flecked green with lime leaf and orange with chilli paste. The meat is coarse and juicy, the flavour loud with lemongrass, galangal and turmeric, and Northern Thais eat it in thick slices with sticky rice, raw cabbage, nam prik noom and a few slices of fresh ginger. If you have no casings or sausage stuffer, the same mixture makes excellent flat patties. Chef's tip: fry a teaspoon of the mixture before you stuff anything and taste it; this is your only chance to fix the salt and chilli.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the paste
For the sausage
To serve
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
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Method
0/10 doneStep 1: Rinse the 2 m natural hog casings inside and out by running cold water through them, then leave them to soak in fresh cold water while you make the filling.
15 minStep 2: Drain the 8 dried long red chillies. Pound them with the 1 ½ tsp salt in a mortar, then add 3 stalks lemongrass, ⅔ oz galangal and ½ oz fresh turmeric and pound for 5 minutes. Add 4 shallots, 6 cloves garlic and 1 tsp shrimp paste and keep pounding to a fairly smooth, damp paste (about 10 minutes in all, or blend with 1 tbsp water).
Step 3: On a board used only for raw meat, mix 1 ⅓ lb minced pork shoulder and 7 oz pork belly in a large bowl with the paste, 8 makrut lime leaves, 3 spring onions, 1 oz fresh coriander and 1 tbsp fish sauce. Knead with your hands for 2 minutes until evenly coloured and slightly sticky.
Step 4: Fry 1 tsp of the mixture in a small pan over a medium heat for 2–3 minutes until cooked through, taste and adjust the salt or chilli in the bowl. Cover the bowl and chill for 30 minutes so the fat firms and the sausage is easier to stuff.
30 minStep 5: Thread a casing onto the stuffer nozzle, tie the end and fill it firmly but not tight, easing out air pockets as you go. Leave 10 cm empty at the end and tie it off. Coil the sausage into a flat spiral and pin it with two crossed bamboo skewers.
Step 6: For patties instead: wet your hands and shape the mixture into 12 flat patties about 1.5 cm thick. Skip the casings entirely.
Step 7: Prick the sausage all over with a fine needle or skewer to let steam escape, and brush it lightly with 1 tbsp vegetable oil.
Step 8: Grill over medium-low charcoal (you can hold your hand above the grill for 5–6 seconds), turning every 4–5 minutes, for 20–25 minutes. A common mistake is a fierce fire: the casing bursts and blackens long before the centre is done.
25 minStep 9: Check the thickest part with a thermometer: it must read 160°F (160 °F) with no pink juices. Patties need 4–5 minutes a side over medium heat on a grill or in a lightly oiled pan to reach the same temperature.
Step 10: Rest the sausage for 5 minutes, then cut into thick diagonal slices. Serve with sticky rice, ginger slices and cabbage wedges.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 390 kcal
- Protein
- 24 g
- Carbs
- 6 g
- Fat
- 30 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sai oua take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 60 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of shallots?
- Half an onion per 2 shallots.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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